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My Brother's Keeper members visit Albany for Stand and Deliver

Rayanu Adam making speech at MBK Conference
My Brother's Keeper members visit Albany for Stand and Deliver

New York State My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) hosted its annual Stand and Deliver, where MBK fellows gave TED-style talks on their experiences in the program, on Friday, February 17, 2023, and Saturday, February 18, 2023. My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) mentors Brother Arthur Muhammad, youth development specialist, and Noel Campbell, Director of Career and Technical Education, took their mentees to Albany for the conference. Walt Reynolds, Mount Vernon High School senior, and Rayanu Adam, Mount Vernon STEAM Academy senior, gave speeches and participated in workshops during the event.

“It was an amazing sight to see these two men from our school district transform from shy, soft-spoken boys to young men who summoned the courage to challenge their fear of public speaking,” said Brother Muhammad. “They represented us well and certainly will be two leaders of tomorrow.”

Walt Reynolds giving speech at MBK Stand and Deliver

The MBK Stand and Deliver serves as a leadership workshop for the MBK fellows and mentors. The workshops and speeches had a focus on leadership development, public speaking, and community building. The Stand and Deliver served as a way for the scholars and their mentors to network with other members and work towards fulfilling the program’s mission.  

During the two-day event, the MBK mentees participated in activities that gave them the opportunity to connect with their peers throughout different school districts. Students shared their life experiences with the audience and how MBK has impacted them and helped prepare them for their future. 

"I was extremely proud of our two mentees, Rayanu and Walt, for sharing their stories and experiences with the other young men throughout the state,” said Campbell. “Their vulnerability was very commendable and inspirational, and not just to their MBK peers, but to me as well."

MBK mentors and mentees

 

Walt Reynolds and Rayanu Adamv

 

MBK Conference
Students and teachers posing with No Place for Hate bags and shirts
Sixteen schools designated as No Place for Hate

All 16 Mount Vernon City School District schools were presented with No Place for Hate (NPFH) Banners at the NPFH Banner Ceremony on Thursday, May 25, 2023. The district became the largest school district in Westchester County to have all of its schools designated as No Place for Hate. They are among the 239 NPFH schools in downstate New York.

MBK Fellows seated at table
Two 11th-grade scholars inducted into My Brother's Keeper

Kevon Palmer and Levonn Latham, 11th-grade students at Mount Vernon STEAM Academy, were inducted as 2023-24 My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) fellows on Friday, May 19, 2023. The induction ceremony was held at the annual My Brother’s Keeper Symposium. They traveled to Albany, New York, where the symposium was held, with their mentors Brother Arthur Muhammad, youth development specialist, and Noel Campbell, director of career and technical education.